Page 47 of The Spotted Cottage By the Sea
Sheila pointed. “Give him bunny ears.” She paused. “Smile. Perfect.”
“Thank you so much!” Carla said, rushing forward. “I can’t believe this!”
“Tell your mom he’s wearing a toupee,” Sheila added.
Carla zoomed in on a picture. “Wait, really?”
Russell covered his eyes with his hand. “Now if I deny it, I look like I’ve got something to hide.”
“I’m just kidding,” Sheila said. “He has great hair.”
“Really great hair!” Carla agreed, beaming. She put her phone back into her pocket and picked up two menus. “I’m so sorry. You probably want to sit down. Follow me!”
They wove through the little restaurant to a small, round table topped with a white tablecloth and a single white candlestick.
They took their seats and Sheila asked, “Does that happen everywhere you go?”
Russell shrugged. “It depends. The beard helps people not recognize me. The hat helps more. What helps most of all is not doing any more movies so people forget I exist.”
Sheila picked up the wine list and held it in her hand. “Don’t you miss it? Making movies?”
He stared at the menu in front of him. They were going to start with canederli, then a braised carrot salad, then a truffle risotto. The main dish was a Chianti-braised beef with polenta and gremolata, and dessert was a white wine cheesecake.
“It’s complicated,” he finally said.
Sheila was watching him with those pretty gray eyes. Her eyeshadow had a touch of sparkle, and it caught in the low light.
He looked back down. He wasn’t supposed to ogle his non-date.
“Is that topic off-limits?” she asked gently. “Like your toupee?”
He cracked a smile. “This might sound dramatic, but sometimes it feels like nothing good came out of me doing movies.”
“What do you mean? You mean the fame?”
He shook his head, trying to figure out what he wanted to say. “I’ve never been particularly comfortable with that part, but no.” He sighed. “When I met Holly, we were both just starting out, and then all of a sudden my career took off. It was just a few movies, and all because of Hank. Nothing really to do with me.”
Sheila narrowed her eyes and leaned in. “You have to give yourselfsomecredit.”
“It’s not fair, the actor’s life.” He shrugged. “Holly was really talented, but she wasn’t getting any roles. She had to watch everyone fawn over me. Every time I dragged her to a premiere or an award show, I could feel her slipping away. Withdrawing into herself, growing more self-conscious. It was stupid, it was destructive, and I didn’t want anything to do with it.”
The waitress stopped by to get their drink orders. Sheila was still holding the wine list.
“Do you want to pick a bottle of wine?” Russell asked.
Sheila shook her head and dropped her voice. “They’re a little pricey.”
“We have a wine pairing,” the waitress said. “Each course comes with a glass of wine chosen by Chef.”
“Chosen by Chef,” Russell repeated. “I don’t think we can top that.”
“I can come back,” the waitress offered, her eyes lingering on Russell.
He nodded. “Thank you.”
“That’s too much,” Sheila said, shifting in her seat. “I’ll stick with water.”
“Do you like wine?” Russell asked.
